bpilgrim89

As an unofficial CUNY admit, I still haven't received an official email of acceptance. So, I don't know what's going on with that! NYU is definitely a reject at this point. They're notorious for that one month gap between admittances and rejections. In perhaps more positive news, the one to two Rutgers admittances this afternoon means tomorrow looks like the day for calls from their DGS! (Rutgers seems to do these on Saturdays for some reason.) Good luck, everyone!

Congrats, anonymous Rutgers admit!

I actually had a professor correct me from calling them Prof. X to Dr. X. I say start with Dr. X. It is better to start too formal in these situations and get it chalked up to anxiety than start too casual and get it chalked up to arrogance.

UPenn waitlist checking in! It was a surprisingly detailed and generous email from the DGS which I received at 12:45am (and then replied to at 1:48am because I am ~~over-eager~~). Here's hoping in the power of group good vibes!

Congratulations to the Princeton admit that posted!

Just received an email that I am waitlisted at Penn. Today has been so much good news!! Penn is in my top 3, so if you're not going, please let them know!!

I hope I can shed some light on CUNY. After calming down and actually reading the email I received today (Reading? Who knew!), it does say that the official email will come later. I can also say that mine was from a POI and was heavily personalized. So, it does sound like things aren't settled there yet.

It seems to vary a lot by school. Some schools are adamant that every student receive the same financial aid package. Some are very explicit and transparent about the ways in which they offer additional funding for specific candidates. The remaining schools are somewhere in between, where they do not mention additional funding sources publicly but do have them. The way to tell (or at least how I have done it!) is to start by reading the department's and graduate school's funding pages and then ask graduate students and faculty members about it. Schools understand that graduate stipends are not a whole lot of money, and in my experience, as long as you are polite, they are happy to have frank conversations with you. Money is a big deal, and graduate programs know that. It sometimes feels like you may have won the lottery by simply getting into a graduate program with funding. But you can and you should still ask for as much clarity as possible. Five to six years is a huge commitment, and you need to know how you would make it work.

I GOT INTO CUNY THIS MORNING. MY ROOMMATE THINKS I AM A CRAZY PERSON SINCE I STARTED SCREAMING ON A THURSDAY MORNING. After getting shut out from PhD programs before, this is such welcome, welcome news. I put the details in the Results page for those interested!

Won't you be my valentine, NYU? ;'(

This. When I showed my advisor my list of schools, his response was, "I see you've decided go big or go home!" Everyone goes to graduate school for different reasons, and for me, employment after the PhD is a serious concern. I know plenty of other programs produce great scholars and interesting research, but placement rates and post-graduate outcomes matter too. So, even if I do get shut out again this year, I am not sure I would have applied to different schools. Same!! My partner is still finishing up their ~job stuff~ which meant an entire coast was off limits for applications this cycle. *looks longingly at UCLA*

I am unsure whether I have been shut out (yet), BUT! I have been before! So, I thought it might be good to create a space for those who didn't match with a program this cycle. What do you think went wrong? Are you going to apply again? If so, what are you going to do in the meantime? If not, bless you for knowing that academia is space we all should be running away from, and what will you do instead?

This is so important because $20k in New York is going to be completely different than $20k in Kansas City. So much of this is going to depend on what is important to you. For example, I avoid driving at all costs, so it matters to me how accessible/costly public transportation is. Having had to evaluate funding packages once before, these were the things that I looked at: 1. COL in the area - What is the rent like? Will you be able to live by yourself, or will you have to have roommates? Is it a place that has rapid rent inflation, like New York or the Bay area? What about grocery stores? Does your town have affordable stores, or are you in a food desert? What about restaurants, bars, and other fun things to do? You need to have some fun during your program, so are there sustainable options? 2. Transportation - If you're going to drive, how far is the commute going to be? How expensive is gas in that area? (I was so shocked to see that gas in my native Ohio was exponentially cheaper than in the Northeast!) What is public transportation like? If you don't drive, is it something that you can afford to use? If you're not in a major metropolitan area, how easy is it to get to one that has an airport/bus station/train station? How far will you be from your family, i.e. how expensive will it be to return home for holidays? In terms of evaluating the individual funding package, here are some other things to look into: 1. Conference funding - Do they have a set amount that is guaranteed for conferences, or do you have to apply for funding? How much is guaranteed and how much could you apply for? How frequently do people obtain competitive conference funding? 2. Health insurance - Even if you're 23/24 now, over the course of a PhD, you'll eventually age out of your parents' health insurance. Does the university fund your health insurance? If so, how much of the premium do you have to cover? What are the out-of-pocket costs of the insurance? Does it cover dental and/or vision? Five to six years in the program means you almost certainly will use your health insurance, so you need to make sure you understand it. 3. Opportunities to "top off" - Are there teaching assistant opportunities that would allow you to add to your funding package? Research assistant opportunities? Other miscellaneous campus positions? Some do, and some don't. These are all things you should ask faculty members, but more importantly, you should ask the current graduate students. Especially some variation of the question "What is something you know about the funding package now that you wish you knew earlier?" While the faculty will know the theoretical answers, the graduate students already negotiate these moving parts, so they are going to be the experts here about what is really feasible.

Meh. I reported the Harvard response. I'm all for fun and sassy rejection comments - I prefer those over the self-flagellating kind - but that was just drivel. It's 2018, and that meme is dated! If they wanted to be relevant, they should have written, "Harvard told me to eat a Tide pod!"

Same as I'm currently in an MA program. I just figured they would still refer all of us, thinking that someone would decide they needed a second MA. When I did my first round of applications many moons ago, I was forwarded along with quite a few others and was admitted. I don't know if everyone is forwarded, but looking at the results of previous years, it looks like a lot are eventually admitted.

Hearing all of these UChicago rejections is making me so nervous. I know I am not admitted (no interview), but I haven't received an email and the web portal still says it has no decision documents for me! Give me the sweet release of death, UChicago!!!

This. I am struggling to believe that Harvard was able to determine the entire class in two weeks. (Applications were due January 2nd.) But hey! You never know!

As I apply again for PhD programs, I am considering whether I should send my GRE subject scores to those "strongly recommended, but not required" schools. I took the test before my master's study (3 years ago) and, for many reasons, will not take it again. My question is should I even bother sending it to those strongly recommended schools? My score was perfectly mediocre: 580, 60-something percentile. Would an average score hurt me more than not submitting it at all?

Hello all! I've noticed in a few threads on personal statements for PhD programs that aside from the pros/cons of mentioning faculty at a program, you should reference what makes that program unique or unique for your study. I'm struggling to put my finger on what exactly this means. For example, colloquiums and consortiums sound good, but since so many programs have these, is that satisfactorily unique? Is the ability to take classes across departments good, and if so, is it wise to mention which departments I'd be interested in? Perhaps I'm overthinking this altogether, but I figured I would ask what some of you noted in your personal statements.

Hi y'all! I'm applying for PhD programs as an 18th-centuryist, so shout out to others in that oft-ignored period! I'm also halfway through a 2-year MA program (there are so many of us here!) This summer is drafting my PS and editing my WS - and beginning work on my thesis of course.

For anyone still waiting on this, I can say that I'm accepting my offer at Georgetown. There seemed to be a bunch of people who got funding that didn't attend the open house though, so I have no idea if it was just because they couldn't attend the OH or if they're not going to Georgetown. Plus, I know there was at least one person at the OH who got funding who is contemplating turning it down due to life issues. My guess is that many of these funding decisions will be made super last minute and perhaps even past the April 15th deadline, which obviously isn't great for those still waiting. I would recommend reaching out to Jessica Marr to see if you can get some more information about where your name is on the list for funding.

I got the "official" email response today, but I received my joint admission/funding email much earlier the day before. Like I said, I think they notified me earlier in order to discuss the details of my funding over the phone, but of course, that's pure conjecture! If it helps at all, your 19k offer at Penn State is more than what I'm getting offered from Georgetown, so even if you get funding, Penn State will probably be more generous.

Fingers crossed for you! Don't give up hope yet! I know I am a weird case as I am currently on my Fulbright, i.e. on the other side of the planet with less than optimal internet access. Ergo, I think they let me know early in order to find a time to talk on the phone.

I was just notified that I have been recommended for admission with funding at Georgetown! A little bittersweet since I was hoping I'd be going to a PhD program, but I am more than excited to have a funded offer that I am 99% sure I will be accepting! Plus Duncan Wu, Dennis Todd, AND Kathryn Temple? I could faint right now!

Is there a Facebook group for Macau/China Fulbrighters? I thought there might be but I can't seem to find it in this thread.